Students Explore Careers through Summer Internships

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August 24, 2016

This summer, the Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts at Loyola Marymount University awarded 14 BCLA Career Pathways Internship grants to liberal arts students. The donor-funded program distributed a total of $20,000 to liberal arts students who accepted unpaid internships this summer. The program is designed to broaden access to career exploration opportunities, by freeing students with financial need to pursue high-quality internship experiences that they could not otherwise afford to accept. Here are a few of this summer’s grantees.

As an intern at the United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland, Nadine Iskandar supported Ambassador Dr. Sameh Aboul Enein, the League of Arab States’ Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the U.N. She attended conferences on disarmament, conducted research on Middle East security issues, and drafted presentations and reports. “[At the U.N.,] you pass by interns, diplomats, world leaders, ambassadors, people of different cultures, ethnic backgrounds, economic standings, and you get the sense that somehow you are all connected,” she said. “Each one of these people has a purpose in being there and the ability to positively affect others’ lives.”

Claire Kennedy ’17
Major: History, minors in Women’s and Gender Studies, Art History
Internship: Office of the Federal Public Defender

Claire Kennedy took on a rigorous internship at the Office of the Federal Public Defender in Los Angeles. In the role, she shadowed a lawyer in the office all summer, visiting clients in the federal prison, speaking with them, and gathering discovery to help the lawyer prepare for trial. She is passionate about law and social justice, and saw this internship as a step towards achieving her dream of becoming a federal attorney.

Caspian Lewke took a finance internship at Enrou, a socially responsible clothing company. The start-up responsibly sources and markets handmade products from around the world. With the company’s small size and rapid growth, Lewke has had an opportunity to test out a variety of different responsibilities directly under the CEO and CFO. “I have gained exposure in a variety of financial departments, “he said. “It’s really helping me build a well-rounded skillset before I leave college.”

Christopher Reynoso followed his passion for social justice this summer, interning at Loyola Immigrant Justice Clinic. Reynoso helped lawyers review cases of immigrants looking to apply for citizenship, visas, pardons, and other immigration-related legal questions. When he was not reviewing cases and working with clients, Reynoso also served as a document translator.

Jaclyn Saito worked as a summer intern in her home state of Hawaii for Honolulu Magazine. She worked as a web editorial and social media intern, writing print and web content, researching story ideas, assisting with marketing campaigns, copy editing, and delivering content through social media platforms. “I am interested in how social media is becoming an increasingly strong and crucial part of a successful business, so helping to manage their social media accounts gives me a greater understanding of how to effectively reach their readers,” said Jaclyn.

Emma Spiekerman spent part of her summer interning for Mortified, a storytelling podcast, show, and event series in which adults read aloud from their childhood diaries. The internship combined her journalistic passion for stories with her interest in childhood psychological development. “The show is all about those awkward teenage years, family, romantic relationships, friendships,” she said. “It’s a way of reflecting on the past, in a really creative way.”

Jakob Weitz interned as an editorial assistant for the World Policy Journal in New York. Weitz developed content for their arts policy blog, proofread, designed graphics, and conducted research for the journal. Read his reflection on how the experience “taught him to be a journalist.”